U.S. Army and Marines Turn Their Attention To Africa

WASHINGTON — While headlines and congressional committees continue to focus on Washington’s strategic rebalance to the Asia-Pacific region, the US Army and Marine Corps remain busy elsewhere, although only the most dramatic bits and pieces of their mission have received much attention.

Part of the reason for that activity is the continuing fallout from the Sept. 11, 2012, attack on the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya, where the US ambassador and three other Americans were killed.

As more forces become available to commanders now that deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan have slowed to a relative trickle, Pentagon leadership and the White House are investing more in the security situation across several regions in Africa, where Islamic militants and ethnic violence threaten to destabilize friendly governments.

Africa is “certainly an area where we are busy” assisting regional partners with “build[ing] their own capabilities to deal with threats,” such as the challenge posed by a morphing al-Qaida and related Islamic extremists, said Lt. Gen. John Mulholland, deputy commander of US Special Operations Command.

“We see great cooperation” between US special operations forces based in Europe and those assigned to Africa, added Maj. Gen. Marshall Webb, commander of US special operations forces in Europe.

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